The present invention relates generally to cartridges for data information disks. The invention relates more particularly to cartridges for protecting rewritable optical disks used for mass storage of alphanumeric data which may be accessed by a computer. Such a disk is preferably enclosed within a cartridge to prevent the disk from being scratched or nicked during handling. In use, the cartridge containing the disk is inserted into a disk drive having an optical reader/writer and thereafter a sliding door on the cartridge is opened to expose portions of the disk to the reader/writer.
A cartridge of this general type is disclosed in Sandell et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,817. The cartridge of that patent comprises a pair of face-to-face shells which define a compartment containing the disk. The sliding door is generally U-shaped and is formed in part by a pair of shutters which normally close access apertures formed in opposite sides of the cartridge. When the door is slid open, the shutters open the access apertures. Upon opening of the apertures, one side of the disk is exposed to a rotary drive spindle of the disk drive and to a laser for reading and writing data on the disk. The other side of the disk is exposed to a magnetic head for erasing data from the disk.
In the cartridge of the '817 patent, the shells are made of plastic and, in one embodiment, the door also is made of plastic. The shutters of the door are separately molded and ultimately are joined to one another by a press fit. The cartridge manufacturer attaches one shutter to one shell, attaches the other shutter to the other shell, partially assembles the shells with one another and ships the cartridge to the disk manufacturer. The latter inserts the disk between the shells and completes the assembly of the shells.